Newbie exposed - "Inst - Chicago Blues "

[mk]

Hey all, I'm Mike Kelly, and I am a relative newbie here at the forums. Been watching the goins ons around here at the Taxi forums for six months or so, and I'm ready to jump in... I think. Lets assume my song is right for the listing, would the audio recording be acceptable? Inst - Chicago Blues - Amaj - 106bpm www.taxi.com/michaelkelly Been trying to record my own music for a few years now, when I first started I just assumed because I had a DAW and decent interface that I would produce " Broadcast Quality" tracks right out of the gate. Even though I had no previous engineering experience. Yeah Right... and yes the weather is always awesome on the planet where I reside.Had more than a few submissions rejected over the last couple of years because of over all sound quality or the drum track specifically. Started working with loops, and I think its really helped the over all sound of my tracks. So this post is to find out where I stand... audio wise. IS THIS TRACK BROADCAST QUALITY? Is it even close? I know the tune itself is kinda boring, has no melody track to speak of, but does it SOUND okay... or no? Thanks to any and all in advance for their time.MikePS The name "Chicago Blues" is in reference to the loop folder I used for this file.

[djb]

Hey Mike, I'm also new to taxi. I have two things working against me for reviewing others music. The first is I only have dial up modem for my computer and it is very slow to get peoples songs up and running. Two, I type with one finger!! But most of all I'm not sure I'm qualified to help with production advice as I have always had my two brothers handling that end of my music for me. That said, I did listen to your "Chicago blues" and for my ear it sounds pretty clean and clear. The drums were up in the mix nice . Seemed like the guitar dropped back a bit around the second verse?? Seems Ive heard some different definitions of "Broadcast Quality " and I'm curious to see how others respond to your question. I'm always looking for comments on my stuff as well. Best of luck in all you do. Dave Berdoulay www.taxi.com/dberdoulay

[geo]

Hey Mike....Took a listen.... the quality of the recording doesn't seem there... the guitar is flat (sonically, not musically) and there are some bad notes in the .45 - .55 sec range...You might want to go over to the forwards section and listen to some of the stuff there...Good luckPeace, Geo

[geo]

Feb 2, 2009, 10:05am, djb wrote: Hey Mike, I'm also new to taxi. I have two things working against me for reviewing others music. The first is I only have dial up modem for my computer and it is very slow to get peoples songs up and running. Two, I type with one finger!! But most of all I'm not sure I'm qualified to help with production advice as I have always had my two brothers handling that end of my music for me. That said, I did listen to your "Chicago blues" and for my ear it sounds pretty clean and clear. The drums were up in the mix nice . Seemed like the guitar dropped back a bit around the second verse?? Seems Ive heard some different definitions of "Broadcast Quality " and I'm curious to see how others respond to your question. I'm always looking for comments on my stuff as well. Best of luck in all you do. Dave Berdoulay www.taxi.com/dberdoulayOK... I liked "All your heart" it's got a bit of a Euro Folk feel... Irish? Good stuff...Peace, Geo

[mk]

Hey Dave, Thanks for the listen, and I to am totally uncomfortable reviewing others music. I think because I'm so uncomfortable doing it, I in turn have and will be "to sweet" in my critque. Pointing out what I see as the positives and kinda skippin over the negatives. I guess I'm kinda scared of upsetting someone. So why bother? But then how can I be takin seriously if I take no risks? How can I ask others to do what I would not? Like for instance, with this track Chicago Blues. I totally expect to get slammed for the bogus sound of the electric guitar single note lines toward the end of the song. The sound is to thin, not to mention the less than stellar proformance of said guitar lines.But I'm hopin aside from that obvious embarassing guitar work, that might be something positive to be commented on. But thanks for your time and I will give a song of yours a listen.I try to remeber what desmond child said in some interview I read..." you have to dare to suck" I think I've accomplished that so the future is lookin better than what I see over my shoulder. I also type with single digits on both hands... this response took me 15 minutes to peck out.... frustrating.

[mk]

Thanks Geo, will do.

[teleblaster]

Drums sound good to me. Organ is a bit cheesey, but that's not out of the norm for a blues track; still I'd try to find some variations on the basic chording your using.IMO, the biggest liability on this track are the guitar sounds. The clean lead is very thin and the crunchy stuff sounds like a keyboard sample. Keep after this one and post up your new version. Cheers,

[mk]

Teleblaster, Thanks for your time and input. Will keep working on it.

[carlosgomez]

The drums are tops and blend well. You probably need more body in your clean guitar. The bass is a little low for my taste. The electric guitar sound is pretty bad. Probably want to try a different sound. Too fuzzy and superficial. Keep at it.

[t4mh]

I think everyone has covered what I would say. Just keep at it! Ya know the only way to be really good at a craft is to do it all the time. Its hard to put something you've worked hard on out there to be pushed around and taken apart. I guess its part of the journey!